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Employment opportunities in the Western Cape’s Green Economy are projected to grow 500 per cent by 2020.

The sector employed 3 000 people in 2010, is projected to employ 12 000 by 2015, 16 000 by 2020 and 20 000 by 2025.

The majority of job opportunities are projected to be created through the manufacturing of components for the renewable energy sector.

Speaking at AEG Power Solutions, a solar power equipment factory in Montague Gardens, Cape Town MEC Winde said: “To create the environment conducive to this growth, the Western Cape Government established Green Cape in November 2010, a government-funded, industry-led agency tasked with unlocking the manufacturing and employment potential of the Green Economy. Green Cape and the Western Cape Government are currently in discussion with various stakeholders on the implementation of smart energy grids that would enable individual firms and households to install hybrid energy generation systems and feed excess power into the grid.”

MEC Winde added: “We recently launched the 110% Green campaign, a catalyst to build a critical mass of activity that puts the Western Cape well on the road towards becoming Africa’s Green Economic Hub – a key economic goal of the province. We also want to establish the Western Cape as South Africa’s centre for the manufacturing of renewable energy technologies, with a focus on future-oriented technology. Our trade promotion agency, Wesgro, is working closely with potential investors in this sector to support their investment decisions, providing detailed investment information and facilitating business linkages between potential partners across the value chain.”

“The EDP Synthesis Report showed that if we do not reduce our carbon footprint, our ability to trade locally and internationally will be drastically reduced. Economic growth puts strain on our infrastructure; we need to find innovative and economical ways to better manage our natural resources especially our electricity use and the way we dispose of our waste,” MEC Winde noted.

MEC Winde visited three factories in Cape Town today, namely: AEG Power Solutions, Tellumat (a manufacturer of energy efficient lighting and electronic equipment) and Tekniheat (a manufacturer of heat pumps for heating water) to highlight the potential of the Green Economy sector in the Western Cape and to engage with workers.